The invention relates to a module, in particular an electronic module of a commercial or utility vehicle, having at least one plug connection which includes a plug element and a mating plug element, by which an electrical connection can be established in the plugged-together state.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for mounting a module, in particular an electronic module of a utility vehicle, having at least one plug connection which includes a plug element and a mating plug element which are plugged together in order to establish an electrical connection.
In particular in utility vehicles, electronic modules are known. Such modules are components of mechatronic modules and are mounted, for example, on housings or other components of mechanical modules such as that of a transmission. It is therefore possible to provide for the entire electronic module to be, for example, attached to an inner side of a housing cover or of an upper housing part by way of a screw connection. The housing cover is, in turn, attached to a lower housing part or other component of the mechanical module.
In order to establish an electrical connection between components of the electronic module and components of the mechanical module, for example sensors and valves, the electronic module includes one or more plug connections. In this context, a plug element of the plug connection is usually secured to the upper housing part and coupled to the electronic module. A corresponding mating plug element for plugging into the plug element is usually attached to the lower housing part and coupled, for example, to sensors or valves of the mechanical module.
The corresponding housing parts of the electronic and mechanical module are assembled or joined together in a conventional way by orienting the upper and lower housing parts, with the plug element and the mating plug element being guided against one another using, for example, locating pins and insertion slopes. The guiding of the plug elements against one another in order to establish the electrical connection is therefore carried out on the basis of the housing parts which cover it, exclusively using the above-mentioned locating pins and insertion slopes and without visual contact with the plug connection, that is to say, it is carried out “blind”. However, both the upper housing part and the lower housing part usually have fabrication-related and/or design-related dimensional deviations or high tolerances in all three dimensions or spatial directions, which makes it more difficult to guide the plug elements against one another. There is therefore the risk that contacts of the plug elements may be damaged when the modules are joined together if the contacts of the plug elements are not guided exactly into position. Furthermore, the upper housing part and the lower housing part have to be sealed by a seal when assembled, while the plug elements have to be guided against one another simultaneously, which additionally makes mounting more difficult.
In this context, it is important in particular to ensure that the plug elements are attached to one another as far as possible in as physically close a fashion as possible, for example due to high vibration stressing of the mechanical module, in order to avoid to a great extent friction between respective plug element contacts. One way of satisfying these requirements is to screw each of the corresponding plug elements to one another from the outside, that is to say to the outside of the housing, or to attach them rigidly one against the other, for example by use of a locking arrangement, in order to make the plug connection correspondingly resistant to vibration. In particular, in the case of the screwing of the plug elements, it is additionally necessary to seal the screw connection which is brought about from the outside. As a result, the expenditure on disassembling the plug connection is also greatly increased. For example, in the case of servicing, the screw connection has to be disconnected, which involves a relatively large number of small screws. Otherwise, the plug connection would be damaged during disassembly. When assembly is carried out again subsequent to the disassembly, the screw connection must be restored, which involves respectively sealing the individual screws again.
A further possibility is to maintain the plug connection by way of forces from plug contact springs of the respective plug elements, for example by use of a corresponding clamping arrangement. However, this results in the disadvantage that in contact zones of the plug contact springs of the respective plug elements micromovements can occur, which can damage the plug contact springs in the contact zone. As a result, in the worst case, the electrical connection can be interrupted. Owing to the above-mentioned problems, in certain cases a procedure has been adopted of not guiding the plug elements one against the other “blind,” but rather of already coupling the plug elements to one another before the housing parts or the other components are mounted. For example, in this case, the one plug element is pre-mounted on the upper housing part. In contrast, the other plug element or the mating plug element is coupled directly to the pre-mounted plug element with visual contact. The mating plug element is, in this case, a loose mating plug element, which is coupled to a cable or to flexible lines. The corresponding housing parts are not coupled to one another until after the plug element and the mating plug element have been coupled to one another in order to permit an electrical connection. However, in this case there is the problem that the cables or flex lines which are used for the loose mating plug element can only be arranged within the module in an uncontrolled way due to the joining of the housing parts and can, as a result, possibly be pinched. This can result in damage to the cables or flex lines which are used, as a result of which in the worst case the electrical connection may be disconnected.
The invention is therefore based on the object of developing such modules, and providing methods for mounting such modules, in particular for “blind” mounting of such modules, in a way that an electrical connection is ensured even in the case of fabrication-related and/or design-related inaccuracies in dimensions of the housing parts without causing damage to the at least one plug connection. In particular, in this context, it is also an object of the invention to implement plug connections which are as vibration-resistant as possible.
This object is achieved by a module, in particular an electronic module of a utility vehicle, having at least one plug connection which includes a plug element and a mating plug element, by which an electrical connection can be established in the plugged-together state. At least one of the plug elements is mounted floatingly or movably within a clearance. The object is further achieved by a method for mounting a module, in particular an electronic module of a utility vehicle, having at least one plug connection which includes a plug element and a mating plug element that are plugged together in order to establish an electrical connection. At least one of the plug elements moves within a clearance with respect to its mount when plugging together the plug elements.
Advantageous refinements and developments of the invention are described herein.
The module according to the invention has at least one of the plug elements mounted floatingly or movably within a clearance. For example, the mating plug element is rigidly connected to an electronic element of the electronic module, for example a printed circuit board. The electronic element can also be connected to an upper housing part or a housing upper part. In contrast, the plug element is mounted floatingly or movably within a clearance on a line carrier or a flexible printed circuit board or a leadframe, which is embedded, for example, in a plastic holder. The floatingly mounted plug element is preferably electrically connected in a flexible way (for example by means of flex, leadframes, cables, etc.). The line carrier can, in turn, be attached to a lower housing part or some other component. This permits the floatingly mounted plug element to compensate for fabrication-related and/or design-related tolerances by virtue of the floating mount. Furthermore, in order to additionally compensate for high tolerances, the plug elements can preferably be equipped with plug contact elements, for example thin metal strips, which have bends (round or square-edged) or tapered portions. As a result, blind mounting of one or more plugs can be performed when the module is closed, while the plugging forces during the mounting are advantageously taken up by the floating mount of the plug element. The floating mount of the plug element is preferably configured such that it can compensate for tolerances in all three spatial directions. Particularly advantageous compensation of tolerances is obtained if both the plug element and the mating plug element are floatingly mounted.
The module according to the invention can advantageously be developed by mounting one or both of the plug elements floatingly or movably within the clearance in a plugging direction. With respect to the plug contact elements, the bends which are provided on them can be embodied in such a way that, in order to additionally compensate high tolerances, the plug contact elements, which are bent at least in certain sections, compensate high tolerances both in the plugging direction of the plug elements and in a direction which is perpendicular thereto depending on the embodiment of the bend, in addition to the compensation by the floating mount. The tapered portions of the plug contact elements can be provided such that, in addition to the compensation of the tolerances by the floating mount in the plugging direction, compensation is made possible perpendicular to the plugging direction by virtue of the tapered portions.
In addition, the module according to the invention can be embodied such that the other plug element is non-movably mounted. This plug element is therefore provided, for example, to be inserted or plugged in through the upper housing part into the floatingly mounted plug element, which is attached to the non-moved lower housing part.
Furthermore, the module according to the invention can be implemented such that one of the plug elements can be prestressed against the other of the plug elements by use of a spring element. After the plug elements have been guided one against the other by assembly, they are therefore pressed together with the spring elements into the end position and secured. The contact friction owing to vibration stresses can be avoided by pressing the one plug element through the spring element in the direction of the other plug element. As a result, the screwing of the plug connection by use of several small screws which are to be sealed and which can cause problems in the case of servicing (tearing off of the plug pins or plug contact pin elements and the seals being forgotten or damaged) is eliminated. In this case, the situation in which, in the case of servicing, cables or flex lines of the loose plug element can be torn off or pinched is also avoided. The housing parts can therefore be assembled in a single fabrication step without the plug elements of the plug connections having to be additionally coupled to one another manually, for example by way of a locking arrangement.
Furthermore, the module according to the invention can be implemented such that the plug elements each include one or more guide devices by which the plug elements can be guided one against the other in order to establish the electrical connection. As a result, “blind” mounting of the plug elements is made possible without the plug connection having to be in the field of vision or mounting range of the fitter, in particular when the upper part and lower part of the corresponding modules are being assembled or joined together.
In this context, the module according to the invention can also be developed such that the guide devices of the plug elements are each formed by sliding faces and/or form fits, by which the plug elements slide one on the other in order to establish the electrical connection. The plug elements or plug housings, which are assigned to the plug elements, preferably have locating pins and/or installation/insertion slopes such as sliding faces or correspondingly embodied chamfers in order to be able to bring about the electrical connection by means of the plug connection as easily as possible.
The module according to the invention is preferably embodied in such a way that the one of the plug elements is mounted on a line carrier, which is secured to a housing lower part.
Furthermore, the module according to the invention is advantageously implemented in such a way that the other of the plug elements is mounted on a printed circuit board, which is secured to a housing upper part.
Furthermore, the module according to the invention can be embodied in such a way that the plug connection is a flat plug connection or a round plug connection. This round plug connection or flat plug connection is particularly characterized by its robustness and, in conjunction with the mounting of the electronic and mechanical module, it is therefore particularly advantageous, in particular owing to the blind mounting by way of the guide device. The movably mounted plug element is preferably electrically connected to a flexible line carrier, for example to a flex printed circuit board, a leadframe, a ribbon cable, cables, etc.
The method according to the invention for mounting a module, in particular an electronic module, is based upon plugging together the plug elements during which at least one of the plug elements moves within a clearance with respect to its mount. The method according to the invention can preferably also be implemented with a plurality of plug connections, which each include plug elements and mating plug elements and are arranged at different positions within the module. In this case also, all that is necessary is to carry out a corresponding assembling or mounting process. For example, the plug elements and mating plug elements can each be provided on multi-pin connectors. Furthermore, by use of the method according to the invention, the properties and advantages which are explained in conjunction with the module according to the invention are provided in the same or a similar way, for which reason reference is made to the corresponding statements relating to the module according to the invention in order to avoid repetition.
The same applies appropriately to the following preferred embodiments of the method according to the invention, in which, in order to avoid repetitions, reference is also made in this regard to the corresponding statements relating to the module according to the invention.
The method according to the invention can advantageously be developed in such a way that it includes the plugging together of the plug elements during which one or both of the plug elements move in a plugging direction within the clearance with respect to its mount.
Furthermore, the method according to the invention can be embodied in such a way that it includes the plugging together of the plug elements during which the other of the plug elements does not move with respect to its mount.
In addition, the method according to the invention can be implemented in such a way that it includes the plugging together of the plug elements during which one of the plug elements is prestressed against the other plug element. The prestressing of the one plug element against the other is preferably carried out by a spring element, which prestresses the movably mounted plug element in its end position against the non-movable plug element. However, in this context, it is possible to use any elastic element, which would be known to a person skilled in the art and which would be suitable for prestressing the plug element against the non-movably mounted plug element.
Furthermore, the method according to the invention can be embodied in such a way that it includes the plugging together of the plug elements during which the plug elements are each guided one against the other by one or more guide devices.
In this context, the method according to the invention can be developed in such a way that it includes the plugging together of the plug elements during which the plug elements slide one against the other by way of the guide devices, which are each formed by sliding faces and/or form fits, in order to establish the electrical connection.
Furthermore, the method according to the invention can be implemented in such a way that it includes mounting of one of the plug elements on a line carrier, which is secured to a housing lower part, before the plugging together of the plug elements is performed.
The method according to the invention can preferably be embodied in such a way that it includes mounting of the other plug element on a printed circuit board, which is secured to a housing upper part, before the plugging together of the plug elements is performed.
In one preferred embodiment, the method according to the invention is implemented in such a way that it includes plugging together the plug elements in order to establish a plug connection, which is formed by a flat plug connection or round plug connection.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.